1. The employment law system

Employment rights in the UK have two main sources. The first is legislation enacted by Parliament in the form of Acts of Parliament or regulations. This is referred to as statutory law (from “statute”— another word for a piece of legislation). The second is common law (also referred to as “case law”), which has developed over the years from decisions made by judges in specific cases.

The system of legal precedent means that lower courts are bound by the decisions of higher courts. In an employment law context, employment tribunals (ETs) must follow the decisions of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT), which must in turn follow those of the Court of Appeal (or Court of Session in Scotland). ET decisions do not bind other tribunals.

In Northern Ireland, appeals from industrial tribunals go straight to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal, and if permission is given, on to the Supreme Court. Northern Ireland also has a specific tribunal, called the Fair Employment Tribunal, that decides complaints of discrimination on the grounds of religious belief or political opinion.

The Supreme Court (which used to be known as the House of Lords) is the highest court in the UK. The principles decided there apply to all courts and tribunals.